Dec. 13--Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport's old terminal will likely be demolished by the middle of next year with a new influx of state grant money, the airport's director said.
The Pittston Township airport was awarded $2.6 million in matching grants to tear down the old terminal and build a commercial aircraft hangar, the state Department of Transportation announced Thursday.
The old terminal opened in 1959 and closed in 2006, when the airport completed construction on the more modern Joseph M. McDade Terminal.
Since then, airport director Barry Centini said officials have been trying to find funding to tear the structure down. He expected to use $1.1 million of the grant to cover half of the project and to use local money to cover the rest.
Centini said once the old terminal is demolished, the area will likely be used for aircraft parking.
Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O'Brien said the demolition of a vacant structure he called a "relic" and an "eyesore" will send a better message to visiting travelers and businesses.
"You only have one chance to make a first impression," O'Brien said. "The new terminal gives people a positive first impression as long as they're looking straight ahead and don't look to the left. --This gives us a chance to wipe away the past and live in the present and the future."
Centini also had big plans to attract corporate jet traffic to Pittston Township for the new commercial aircraft hangar, but that estimated $3 million project will develop more slowly.
The state money would cover $1.5 million of the cost, and Aviation Technologies, the airport's fixed base operator, plans to borrow the rest to construct the structure.
Centini said the fixed base operator contract calls for the company to recover the money from rental fees, so both organizations will try to recruit corporations so they can build the hangar.
Centini sees opportunity to recruit businesses with cheaper rates than the Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey areas. He said the hub might even convince some businesses to locate operations in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
[email protected], @kwindTT
Copyright 2013 - The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
